The InLaws
by Jessa4865
Summary: Sam's real family... from an interesting viewpoint. Don't worry, it really is about Sam and Jack I promise! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

The In-Laws  
Jessa4865  
Spoilers: Up through Threads because I'm still trying to pretend that RDA's still on the show  
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I'm just taking them out for some fun. I'll put them back when I'm done. Promise.  
AN: Excuse any inaccuracies. I don't know the names of Mark's wife or kids. Nor do I know if there's a chapel at the Air Force Academy. Oh, and I'm purposely making Mark's kids much younger than they could possibly since they already existed in Cold Lazarus. If these things are in fact wrong, please ignore them as I don't think they necessarily affect the point of the story. J

Chapter One

When I made peace with my father a few years ago, I thought things would be better. In allowing him back into my life, I also got my sister back. Or so I thought. Sam and I had always been close - as her big brother, it was my responsibility to protect her when dad wasn't around. And dad wasn't around a lot. Even though Sam was only a few years my junior, I felt like she was my trial run at being a dad myself. She fooled me into thinking it would be easy. Sam was every parent's, and older brother's, dream. She was smart and well behaved and outgoing and popular and she even helped me with my homework, not that I ever admitted that to anyone.

So when I opened my door to dad and Sam five years ago, I made the ridiculous mistake of believing that they were back in my life. Sam and dad had always been close as well, making it no surprise to me that they'd been in contact for years without involving me. It was a surprise, however, that Sam had changed so much in those years. I went nearly a decade, embarrassed as I am to admit it, without talking to my father or saying much of anything beyond standard holiday greetings to my sister. Through cards on Christmas and the kids' birthdays, we communicated anything of particular interest. I actually called Sam when my son was born, due mainly to the fact that I'd received a note a week earlier that she was relocating to Colorado Springs from Washington where she'd been since she finished school.

Those occasional notes revealed very little, apparently. Much to my chagrin, my brilliant sister was progressing happily through the ranks of government service where I'd told her a million times she would never succeed. And, of course, those few contacts were brief and specific, preventing the topic of dad from ever coming up. When Sam called me out of the blue one day, damn near hysterical in her quiet, controlled way, about dad being terminal with lymphoma, it was only out of a sense of decorum that I didn't hang up on her.

She must have known because she never called to say he died. Of course, that made sense when he knocked on my door. But I was a little burned that she hadn't called to say he'd lived either. I never did get much of an explanation on that. It just went away, apparently. I certainly hope if I ever get something like that it will mysteriously clear up on its own.

I forgave my dad. Because he was there. Because he was my dad. Because I'd looked at my little girl's face and knew, without a doubt, that it would absolutely kill me if she ever stopped speaking to me. I had nothing to forgive Sam for, since she'd never done anything wrong. But the woman I spoke to that day was not the same woman I'd known.

Now, granted, when I'd last seen her, she'd barely been a woman. She'd been in her early twenties, progressing through her doctorate at breakneck speed without even consciously realizing that she was much younger than any of her fellow students. She'd never paid any attention to the fact that she was brilliant. She never really seemed to notice that there was anything special about her. She was just this exceptionally gifted girl with a sunny outlook on life that probably annoyed all the people who were jealous of her anyway. She was every bit as exuberant then as she'd been as a cheerleader for her junior high squad. She was happy and quick and gregarious and so talkative it made me nuts - because she was usually talkative about stuff that was so far over my head that I could have cried. Even when she was serving in the Air Force, she was the same way - going off on tangents about the stuff she was working on excitedly before she remembered it was classified and then begging me not to tell anyone anything she'd said, as though I'd understood enough of it to know what to repeat if I'd wanted to. That was just Sam Carter.

Somewhere along the line, Sam Carter had been replaced with a clone - physically, she looked like Sam, but her personality was dad's. She was quiet and reserved and tightlipped and said as little about herself and her life than was necessary to actually have a conversation with her. I guess all that Air Force stuff sunk in; I felt guilty for not talking to her as if that was responsible for her personality shift.

Every once in a while, the real Sam will peek out - like when she bought Nicky a telescope for her eight birthday and rattled on about the stars and planets so long that Nicky fell asleep.

But mostly, I got polite answers, curt nods, and strange phone calls that never quite explain why Sam wouldn't be around for Christmas or a birthday or whatever trip she'd claimed to have penciled in on her calendar. So I started seeing her like I had always seen dad - I knew somewhere deep down, she cared about my family and I, but I knew we weren't on her mind a lot. And the awkward silence when I tried to push past the Deep Space Radar Telemetry bull that even I recognized as a cover story told me that whatever she was doing took up pretty much every available thought.

Needless to say, when I got the call that day - without Sam even having missed any important event - and my sister was on the other end of the phone, not the Air Force Colonel, I mean, but my sister, I knew something was very wrong. She danced around the reason she was calling, ignoring my queries into her sniffling and asking how Nicky and Matt were doing and how my wife was and if there was anything new going on at work. Confused, I repeated the appropriate questions, how she was, what was new. She chattered on about a sale at the grocery store for at least ten minutes before she dropped two unbelievable pieces of news on me.

"Pete and I broke up," she said. Then she paused, and I wondered if she was terribly hurt by it. A moment later, the rest of the news came. "Dad's gone."

I knew she didn't mean like on vacation kind of gone. _Gone_ gone. I squeezed my eyes closed, feeling a hurt inside that I truly hadn't really expected to feel. There was utter silence in my house, as Stephanie and the kids were at the store, and I felt so alone that I was glad to have chatty Sam on the phone. It took a few moments for me to force out words as some kind of automatic response kicked in to cover up the fact that my head wasn't quite working. "What happened?"

And in true Carter fashion, Sam didn't answer.

"There's going to be a memorial service. It's going to be at the Air Force Academy chapel." She rattled off some more information, the date and time and directions from the hotel where she'd gotten us a room in case we didn't want to stay with her. I wrote it down without asking anything else.

I knew the military way - my father was dead and all I was going to find out was when to pay my respects. I didn't even get angry. I recalled that I'd brought it on myself by leaving her alone with only dad as family for too many years and then promised her, my scared, hurt, yet still unflappable baby sister, that we'd be there as soon as we could.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Thanks so much for the comments. They mean a lot to me! Keep them coming. I already have this fic all plotted out and the notes written up, so I promise (sort of :P) that it won't be as drawn out as Contact._

Chapter Two

I discussed it with Stephanie on the plane while the kids slept. Of course, her first question when I'd told her we were going to Colorado was what happened to my dad. Her own parents had died in a car accident before we were married, so she'd been ecstatic that our kids would have a grandparent. I could only shrug and roll my eyes, revealing that I didn't know and couldn't believe that the death of my retired father had anything to do with the military whatsoever.

We didn't check into the hotel. I thought it would be a better idea to check on Sam, to see how she was, to see if she wanted the company or if she would prefer to be left alone. The kids were awake and bored and getting loud when I pulled up to Sam's house. I didn't even have to get out of the car - her car wasn't there and the house was completely dark and there was a stack of newspapers on the porch. We went back to the hotel and I left a message on Sam's cell phone. I felt bad for her. I knew she was tremendously close with dad and she was a workaholic and with her job, whatever the hell it was, I figured some jerk was making her work despite her loss.

I didn't hear back from her until the next morning, when she told me she'd meet me at the gate because they were requiring IDs to get near the chapel where the service was being held. I found it odd that only military types and those being escorted by military types would be allowed in, but then I realized that except for the four people in my family, that was all dad had. And considering the end to her engagement plans, the same thing went for Sam. It made me feel sorry for her. Her attachment to dad had been so strong that she'd adopted his empty life that revolved around work and work acquaintances.

I barely recognized her when she met us. I knew to expect the uniform, but somehow I'd still half expected Sam to be the old Sam in comfy jeans and an old sweatshirt. I smiled awkwardly under the circumstances as she squeezed in the back seat of the rental with the kids. When we pulled up to the gate, Sam spoke curtly to the men. They saluted respectfully and directed us inside. I stole a look at her in the rear view mirror, taking in all of the adornments on her uniform. There had been a time, way back when I wanted to follow in dad's footsteps myself, that I could have recited what each pin and medal and bar meant. I'd forgotten over the years exactly what Lieutenant Colonel meant. Especially for a woman. Especially for a woman who'd spent a lot of years in school. I was reminded when I saw the uniform and the respect in the eyes of the men who spoke with her.

But I saw something else as well. My sister, who had always been and always would be in my mind, young and innocent and carefree, had aged. The years had started to show themselves - and they weren't laugh lines. There were creases on her forehead, which she'd probably given herself by twenty with the way she poured over books. There were lines around her eyes, exacerbated by the bags her makeup didn't quite hide. Her eyes were red as well, but all other evidence of her upset had been erased. Still, she looked tired.

I studied her further after I'd parked and we began walking. Sam had always been tall and thin, but her uniform drew attention to how tiny she really was. I wondered if she ate at all, and had we not been on our way to our father's memorial service, I might have teased her about it.

Our progress was halted for a moment as Nicky saw a butterfly that she wanted to chase. Stephanie followed her, trying to guide her back to the sidewalk. I lifted Nicky up to prevent anymore escapes and Stephanie smoothed down Nicky's dress. Sam looked at us with a sad smile, revealing a crack in the façade of how happy she claimed to be. I knew Sam had always wanted a family of her own; she was getting old enough that the odds were slim.

A man approached us then, wrapping Sam in a tight hug that revealed how very not-military he was. "How are you, Sam?"

She shrugged, admitting more to him in one gesture than she had to me. "Daniel, this is my brother, Mark." She listed out the other names of my family members, but before she could tell me who I was talking to, she was distracted by another man - a large, imposing black man who surprised me by how gently he embraced Sam.

The first man paid them no mind, extending his hand to me almost as though he were used to being blown off. "Dr. Daniel Jackson." He had a friendly way about him that put me at ease.

"You're not Air Force."

He looked stunned. "No. No. Good lord, no." He peeked at Sam who nodded at him. "I'm an archeologist. I work with Sam."

"In Deep Space Radar Telemetry?" I raised my eyebrows.

He didn't blink. "This is another coworker of ours, Teal'c. Teal'c, this is Mark Carter, Sam's brother."

I prayed my face didn't reflect the only thought I was having at the moment, which happened to be 'what the hell kind of name is that,' because I feared it would get my ass kicked. I smiled at the expressionless face before me and offered my hand.

He bowed slightly and ignored my hand. "It is good to make your acquaintance, Mark Carter."

I opened my mouth to correct him on my name, but Sam shook her head. Wherever he was from, apparently, expected that. "So you work with Sam too?"

"Yes." His face remained impassive; he offered no embellishment.

"Ok. Great." I knew I wasn't about to get anything out of him. I thought about questioning him regarding the fedora he wore, but I decided against it. It was probably as, or more, likely to get my ass kicked.

Daniel, seemingly the most human of the three people in front of me, looked uncomfortable and fidgeted with his glasses. He turned to Sam abruptly. "Jack's already inside."

Sam nodded. "I'll be right in." Thankfully, her words seemed to release the two men to go inside, leaving us to familial discomfort instead of strangers staring at one another. She looked at me. "General O'Neill is my, uh, boss." A strange looked passed over her face then and my heart went out to her.

There was my little sister, suffering through the loss of her father, alone, and she'd just realized the only people there were coworkers. She had no husband or boyfriend. She had no kids. She apparently had no friends. She just had coworkers. In a moment of weakness, I set Nicky down and put my arm around Sam's shoulders. I had just watched two men she only worked with hug her warmly with no reproach from her. But the moment I touched her, she stiffened. After an awkward pause, I pulled away.

"We should head inside, I guess." I took Nicky's hand, returned Stephanie's shrug, and followed Sam, who'd started walking away before I'd finished speaking.

The population inside the chapel was just as I'd suspected: a sea of blue. Besides Daniel and whatshisname, I counted three people not in an Air Force uniform. But honestly, I was surprised at how very many people were there. Despite our reconciliation, I had to admit my father was a gruff man. He didn't make friends easily; he was much better at ordering them around. As we waded through the crowd, marked occasionally by a face I recognized from childhood, Sam was stopped a million times. Of course they all knew who she was, but more than that, they knew her. It was obvious in their tone when they offered their condolences and the way they inquired about her personally. Sad as it was that she had no life and no friends, Sam was immensely popular. Because I realized they weren't really there for my dad. They were mostly there for Sam.

She led us to a pew in the front, but before she sat down to join us, General O'Neill approached. She'd already told me that he was her boss, so I wasn't really shocked at the way she immediately snapped out of the vague fog she'd been in since I'd first seen her by the gate. He was exactly what I expected of the man who worked my sister, and her personality, to death. He looked hard, cold, emotionless. I could see him ordering her around, probably yelling for the sheer misery of having to wear all those medals all the time; his jacket must have weighed a ton.

"Carter." I looked up instinctively, letting myself be annoyed that her jerk of a boss couldn't use her first name. I decided he probably didn't actually know it. "Hammond's looking for you."

"He's already here? Thank you, sir." Sam followed him, obviously like he expected, without a word to me. I figured she planned to return.

Stephanie leaned toward me. "Your father had a lot of friends."

"I never would have guessed it." I was going to tell her my observation about them all being there for Sam once we were somewhere we wouldn't be overheard. I didn't want anything to get misconstrued on the way back to her, and I knew it would undoubtedly get back to her.

I watched Sam greet Hammond. He was a stout, bald general, and looked far more approachable than most three star generals I'd ever seen, especially when he hugged Sam. I kept my eye on her, as the two generals talked. Sam appeared to be listening, but she wasn't participating.

The chaplain cleared his throat to indicate he was ready to begin. I expected Sam to excuse herself to sit with me. We were family, after all. We were the only family left anymore.

But she didn't. She turned to face the front and remained where she was with the generals on either side of her. The other two men I'd met stood next to O'Neill. I looked at my wife. She looked at confused as I did.

"Doesn't family usually sit together at these things?"

"We sat together at Mom's funeral."

"Maybe it's some sort of protocol thing."

I shrugged in response and directed my attention to the chaplain. At least, I tried to. My eyes kept wandering over to Sam. I noticed how she stood shoulder to shoulder with her boss, so close, in fact, that the fabric of their uniforms touched. General Hammond, a man I'd never met nor ever heard of, approached the lectern to speak about my father. He told stories about dad that I'd never heard, which wasn't all that surprising really, stories that reflected a different side of a man I hadn't known that well. He recounted having heard tale after tale about Sam through the years that he could barely stand to hear anymore, until he'd gotten to know her himself and realized she was deserving off all her father's praise.

Sam's head bowed down and I knew, I just knew, my sister was crying. Her body remained perfectly still, but I could tell. Once again I cursed the military training that prevented her from allowing herself the simple release of tears. And then I saw O'Neill's hand reach out for her. His hand rested against the small of her back - not a grand gesture in the scheme of things - but it was enough. It was a small sign, but a sign nonetheless. It didn't look good. They were in uniform. He was her boss. There were far too many fellow officers around for no one else to have seen it. I blamed and forgave the man in the same breath - he was doing something that might hurt Sam's career but he wasn't letting her stand there and cry by herself.

His hand remained on her back for several minutes, offering his support the same way I would have done had she been next to me. Once his hands were back at his side, I tuned back into the service.

Surprisingly, the strange man with the fedora, whose name I only remembered as having been weird, stepped forward. He didn't move far, only stepped face to face with Sam. "Jacob Carter was one of the finest warriors I have had the honor of knowing." He reached out and clasped Sam's forearm in an odd display that she actually seemed familiar with, but I was too hung up on thinking of my dad as a warrior to notice.

I noticed O'Neill's hand went to Sam's back again and only then did I realized that single statement had made her cry once again. She nodded at him a moment later and he walked forward, another person I didn't know eulogizing my father.

O'Neill didn't get a whole sentence into his speech before Sam brought her hands to her face. Daniel moved in immediately, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Sam relaxed enough to rest her head on his shoulder while O'Neill talked. He spoke almost cryptically, making references to things I didn't understand, but other people seemed to appreciate it. He even made a few comments that drew smiles and a few laughs from the gathering that probably would have been funny had my sister not been crying and my father not been dead. When he stepped down, he paused in front of Sam, holding her eyes for a long time. Without a word, Daniel stepped to the side, allowing O'Neill to return to Sam's side.

The chaplain reminded everyone that there would be a gathering at Sam's house and then offered a few final words of blessing. By the time he was finished, Sam was back in military mode, the way I'd seen her that morning - red eyes, but no tears.

I was accosted by a few white haired generals who insisted on regaling my wife with ridiculous stories about some boy they seemed to think had been me. Stephanie listened politely as long as she could before she made some excuses about the kids needing naps. I practically shoved my way through the crowd, but when I made it to the parking lot, Sam was nowhere to be found. Nor were any of her bodyguards.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Thanks for the reviews!Keep 'em coming! I'm glad to see how many people are interested in this. This part cracked me up to write, so I hope you enjoy it!_

Chapter Three

By the time we made it back to Sam's house, there were already quite a few cars parked along the block. As I pulled in to park several houses away, I noticed fedora man flagging me forward. He was standing in Sam's driveway, blocking a space in it.

He stared without a smile as I pulled up. "Colonel Carter requested that I reserve this place for your vehicle." He disappeared into the house before I could thank him. Of course, it was only fair to admit that it took longer than it should have for me to realize that Colonel Carter was Sam.

I turned to Stephanie. "I guess she didn't forget me after all."

We walked inside, noting the newspapers that had littered the porch were stacked up in the hall, along with a giant pile of mail. I'd only been in Sam's house a few times, but I knew my sister wouldn't have dust all over her furniture if she were ever there to do anything about it. She wasn't home often; I felt better knowing all of her excuses for missing trips hadn't been lies. I was about to make a comment as we walked past the kitchen. Daniel and Teal'c, the name came back to me as soon as I heard Daniel repeat it, were moving around the room, completely comfortable going through Sam's cabinets and drawers.

I turned to the left, taking in the sight of my sister's living room. The room was packed with people already. Every flat surface was covered with food. I picked up an obligatory plate and joined the line, realizing as I passed tray after tray of dessert foods that something weird was going on. It had been my experience that mourners at wakes generally brought real food so that the family didn't have to cook. As I surveyed the scene, all I saw were cookies and cakes and what was quite possibly the world's biggest bowl of blue jello. I set my empty plate down on the pile and looked for Sam.

I may not have had the happiest family life, but I always thought it was pretty normal. Bland compared to the stories I heard from time to time from friends, telling of screaming matches and broken dishes and second cousins hooking up when no one was looking.

But then I saw my sister, in her dress uniform, sitting on the couch with a plate of cake and pie and cookies on her lap. Daniel was on one side of her, holding a plate of cake and jello. Daniel and Sam looked at one another's plates and then swapped without a word. O'Neill was on the other side of Sam. He had a pie, a whole pie complete with aluminum pie plate, in his lap and a fork in his hand. Teal'c was sitting on his other side, leaning back and spraying a can of whipped cream into his mouth. The four of them were crammed on top of one another, yet none of them seemed to notice, let alone mind.

Teal'c sprayed it repeatedly before he sat straight up and spoke. "This container is not large enough."

O'Neill looked at him skeptically. "Don't tell me you ate all of that. I wanted to put some on my pie. I can't eat apple pie without whipped cream."

He nodded. "Indeed, O'Neill, there is no more." He examined the can. "Redi-whip should be sold in larger containers."

O'Neill nudged Sam. "Carter, Teal'c ate all the whipped cream."

Disbelieving, I watched as my prim sister spoke around the giant mass of jello in her mouth. "What do you want me to do about it?" She swallowed. "Sir."

O'Neill leaned back and reached past Sam to tap Daniel. "Is there anymore whipped cream?"

"I don't know. I think I saw some icing. Will that work?"

Sam looked at O'Neill. "If you put icing on that pie, I'm going to throw up."

"It's for Teal'c."

Sam glared at him with an expression that I instantly recognized as her 'yeah, right' face. I couldn't believe that she was looking at her boss, at a general, with that expression. I actually tensed, waiting for him to explode.

O'Neill looked back at Teal'c, who was shaking the empty, sputtering can of whipped cream and trying repeatedly to make more come out. "How about icing?"

Teal'c nodded as solemnly as he had in the chapel. "Yes, I shall have that instead." Then he got up and headed back into the kitchen.

I looked at my wife. Her mouth was hanging open and I was embarrassed, although I couldn't explain why. Maybe it was because I'd just witnessed my sister participating in one of the oddest exchanges I'd ever seen. "Steph, you think they could have gotten drunk that fast?" There were three open bottles of beer sitting on the floor by their feet.

"Maybe they're all high, Mark. This is the weirdest funeral I've ever been to." I wasn't sure if she was complaining, though, because she had a bunch of cookies and a cupcake on her plate.

Our conversation stopped when we noticed Nicky had wandered over to them. As a father, my first instinct was to rescue my daughter from the crazy people. But I only watched as Sam smiled warmly at her.

Nicky reached out her arms to Sam. "Aunt Sammy!"

Sam smiled brilliantly, the sight of her niece momentarily erasing the reason they were there. "You want to sit with me, Nicky?"

O'Neill reached for her plate as she reached for Nicky and settled her onto her lap. O'Neill's face broke into a wide smile and I amended my first impression of him - he didn't appear hard or cold at all anymore. "Hi, Nicky, I'm Jack. Do you like apple pie?"

Nicky shook her head. "I like chocolate chip cookies!"

"One chocolate chip cookie, coming right up." O'Neill reached over Sam and Nicky and plucked a cookie out of Daniel's hand, despite his protests. "Here you go."

Nicky stuffed half the cookie in her mouth while Daniel pouted. It wasn't clear which one of them Sam and O'Neill were laughing at. Sam stopped Nicky from eating the second half. "What do you say?"

"Thank you, Jack." She smiled at O'Neill.

O'Neill's smile widened. "You know, you look just like Aunt Sammy when you smile."

And suddenly, I wasn't worried at all about allowing my kids around them. I was, however, sincerely concerned about the amount of sugar they would ingest before the day was out.

I turned away, distracted for a moment by General Adams. He was one of those guys I actually recognized from my childhood. Oddly enough, I was ecstatic because he knew me. Not someone he thought was me, not my sister, but me. I chatted with him amiably for several minutes while Steph disappeared into the other room, probably looking for a female to chat with as they were woefully lacking in the living room. In fact, finding someone in the house under forty was getting harder as more and more people arrived.

When I looked back, the group on the couch had broken up. Sam was nowhere to be found. Teal'c had returned and was holding a tub of icing in his hand. I chuckled at the sight of him carefully extracting the multicolored chips and lining them up on the coffee table while he ate the plain icing.

And then, O'Neill was in front of me. He had a beer in each hand, offering one to me. I wasn't really in the mood, but I remembered all too well dad's stern lectures on how family reflects on an officer. I smiled for Sam's sake and took the beer, shaking the hand he immediately offered once free of beer.

"Jack O'Neill."

"Mark Carter."

"Yeah, I guessed that." He stared at me hard and I wasn't sure why. He seemed to be trying to read me, but I was family. He should have been the one being intimidated.

The thought irritated me. "So you're the reason Sam never sees daylight."

"She sees daylight." Damn, he was hard to read. As far as I could tell, there were equal chances that he was amused and angry.

I looked away, suddenly noticing that we were being watched. Teal'c had set his spoon down and cocked his head to the side, studying the pair of us. Daniel and Sam were in the kitchen. Daniel was pretending to be transfixed by his beer bottle; Sam was just staring at us. I couldn't be sure which one of us was being scrutinized, but judging from the way O'Neill had been looking at me, I had the sick feeling it was me. As I looked back at him, I saw him following my gaze. Curious, I turned back, amused to see Teal'c suddenly become fascinated with his icing and Daniel suddenly deciding to wash dishes. Sam held O'Neill's eyes for exactly too long before she mouthed 'be nice' at her boss. She certainly wasn't looking at me; I could have sworn she barely even realized I was there.

Just in case her words had been directed at me, I tried to smile. "Have you worked with Sam for a long time?"

He was smirking as he refocused on me and I knew without looking that Sam was as well. "Yeah, it's been almost ten years. Sweet." He looked pleased with himself.

"That is a long time." I tripped over my words as I realized the man before me had something to do with why Sam had changed so much in those almost ten years.

He started it, but I offered no resistance as we both shifted slightly to look at Sam. She'd still been staring at us, but her eyes widened and she blushed as she turned away to help Daniel with the dishes. O'Neill smiled almost ruefully. "Carter was a baby back then."

I knew he meant it affectionately, strange as it was for a CO to speak that way, and that he had good memories of the Sam I had known so well. But I still bristled at the fact that she had changed and at him by extension for having something to do with that change. "She still is." I could hear the growl in my voice, issuing the unspoken warning that I hadn't had the opportunity to issue for years.

O'Neill didn't respond. He didn't fidget or wince or walk away or even appear to have heard me. He simply stared at me for a long moment and I suddenly found myself to be well aware of the fact that he'd kill me if I ever hurt her, even if I was her brother. The understanding must have shown on my face. O'Neill smiled and shook my hand again, the threat having disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Nice talking to you, Mark."

I'd never been big on military types, nor on any guys who were friends or acquaintances or even just barely knew my sister, but I smiled back at him, knowing my sister was perfectly safe around him. "See you around, Jack."

I turned away, shaking my head as if that would help ward off the confusion. Aspects of my sister's life, especially her coworkers, were giving me a headache. And that ridiculous spread of cakes in all shapes and sizes was starting to look really good.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thanks for the reviews! I'm working as fast as I can!_

Chapter Four

I spent a few hours milling around, talking to random people. Of course, people were stereotypically tight-lipped about my dad's job, but they were all too happy to share amusing stories and anecdotes about him. I was amazed to discover they weren't all nearly as bad as I'd always expected, although some of them were notably worse. I began to see another side to my dad, perhaps the one Sam had always seen, that could be quite funny and playful. I even picked up that, although there was some tension from time to time, my dad seemed to hit it off with Jack. I wasn't sure why that seemed important at the time; I only knew that it did.

Nearly all of the people were gone by late afternoon. Starving, I'd actually been reduced to eating a handful of cookies while I watched my children amuse themselves by playing a game that involved climbing all over Teal'c. I would have reprimanded them, but Jack was encouraging them and Sam was giggling and Daniel was rolling his eyes and Teal'c, despite repeated requests that someone remove the children from his person, didn't particularly seem to mind. The only thing that ever distressed him, that in fact distressed all four of them, was when Matt nearly knocked his fedora right off his head. I don't think I've ever seen four people move so fast in my life. I shrugged at Stephanie before she had the chance to ask, assuming there was some scar or something that they didn't want the kids to see.

So it was us and them. And with my traitorous children having switched sides, the 'us' was getting pathetic. Matt stepped away from the game with Teal'c and approached Jack. Jack was scraping the last of his pie from the plate, which had, at some point, had icing slathered liberally over the top.

I watched my son tug on the man's arm. He smiled up at Jack, obviously dazzled by the alarming amount of hardware on the older man's jacket. "Can I see your hat?"

Jack grinned and shook his head, leaning down so Matt could snatch the hat right off his head. Matt put it on proudly, not caring that it covered his eyes and made him stumble into things. Jack watched my son with a wide smile, evidently not caring that his hair was sticking up in a hundred different directions. No one else seemed to notice. Once again, he'd surprised me. For all the uptight, miserable, hard-ass generals I'd ever known, Jack wasn't one of them.

Matt showed Steph and I his hat and we exclaimed over it appropriately. Matt meandered back to Jack, bumping into several pieces of furniture on the way. He smiled at Jack once again. "I want to be like you when I grow up!"

I barely recognized the loud, drunken peal of laughter that followed my son's statement. All eyes in the room slowly turned to Sam, who'd apparently been steadily knocking back the beer since that morning. She was red in the face, laughing hysterically. Daniel, who was sitting right beside her, looked at her and started laughing too.

"All right, kids, that's it." Jack crossed the room and took the beer bottles from his friends. "You're both flagged." He seemed mad to me, and surprisingly, Sam believed the same thing.

She fought back her laughter, leaning back to look at him as he walked away. "I wasn't laughing at you, sir." She stopped as another giggle worked its way loose.

Jack stared down at her from his position behind the couch. "Then just what the hell is so funny?" He actually sounded indignant and I couldn't believe that he actually cared what my sister thought.

"Sir, the idea of Mark's son joining the Air Force… well, really, sir, you'd have to have seen a few of our holidays growing up." She ducked her head and started laughing again.

Jack's eyes darted to me and I studied my shoes. I'd never been a fan of the military and I hadn't hidden it well. And for the first time in my life, I was embarrassed to admit it. He glared at Daniel, who was still snickering. "And what are you laughing at?"

Daniel grinned cheekily at his friend. "The notion that anyone would actually want to be like you, Jack. I mean, sure with a couple of really bad head injuries, maybe, but-" His voice trailed off as he started laughing again, egging on Sam's giggles.

Teal'c raised one eyebrow at the pair sitting beside him. They were hysterical again, leaning on each other and muttering things that, mercifully, no one but them could understand. Then he looked at me. "This is why I do not consume alcoholic beverages."

"Good reason."

"Jack!" Daniel's whine grated on my nerves, but Sam didn't seem to notice. She'd rested her head on his shoulder once again and appeared to be quite comfortable once he put his arm around her.

"What, Daniel?" His voice was muffled as he poked around in Sam's fridge.

"Can I have my beer back?"

"No." Not finding what he was looking for, he started rummaging around in the cabinets. "Sweet!" I was the only one who looked up and when I saw him grinning like an idiot at a box of Fruit Loops, I realized why no one had bothered to look up.

He found himself a bowl, pawing through my sister's kitchen like he owned the place, and proceeded to dump half the contents of the cereal box in it. He picked out the prize that fell in, dumped on some milk, and made himself comfortable on the couch next to Sam, despite roomier accommodations in multiple places around the room.

He reached over and handed Sam the prize. "Here's your secret decoder ring, Carter."

Sam looked at it and giggled. "Keep it, sir. Maybe you'll be able to understand what I say now."

That time, Steph and I joined Daniel and Sam in laughing at Jack. Jack did not look happy. He glared at Sam and narrowed his eyes. "A little bit of beer and suddenly you're a comedian."

Sam didn't sit up, but appeared sufficiently chastised. Appeared being the operative word. She reached out and took the ring out of his hand. "Maybe it'll work on Daniel's lectures."

Teal'c, who for whatever reason had seemed mentally above the fray, stood up, stepped in front of Jack and bowed. "I would like to be the first to offer my sincere congratulations on your betrothal to Colonel Carter."

Daniel started laughing again. Sam's face was comically red, although out of repressed laughter or embarrassment, I couldn't tell. Jack glared at Teal'c and I realized that was what he did when someone one-upped him, probably because he needed time to think of a comeback.

"T, Carter and I are not engaged." He spoke very slowly as though he was trying to control the urge to scream.

"You have presented Colonel Carter with a ring. Is that not how Pete Shanahan conveyed his intentions?"

Dead silence answered him. Sam had told me of her broken engagement, but until that moment, I hadn't been sure who else knew. Jack had his eyes closed and looked quite calm, but I could see a vein bulging out of his temple. Daniel had instantly sobered up somewhat and was looking sick, although there could have been a hundred causes of that.

Sam stood up after a painfully long moment. "I'm going to lie down."

As soon as her bedroom door closed, Jack stood up and started clearing the dishes and trash left around the room. Daniel remained where he was sitting, still looking sick. Teal'c sat down next to him.

"Have I said something to offend O'Neill and Colonel Carter?"

Daniel winced. "Here's a good rule of thumb, Teal'c, don't mention an ex-boyfriend's name in front of a woman until after she's mentioned it."

Teal'c nodded thoughtfully. He approached Jack, showing no fear when the older man began throwing things more forcefully in the trash bag. "It was not my intention to upset Colonel Carter."

Jack didn't answer. Teal'c walked away, having said all he had to say. And I was left staring at my sister's CO, wondering why he was mad at someone for upsetting Sam.

Stephanie and I eased ourselves out of the room, backing into the den in an attempt to hide out. The kids had found their way into the small room and made themselves at home in front of the TV. Ever the gossip, Stephanie stayed by the door, trying to peek out to see what, if anything, was happening. "Did she tell you who broke it off?"

I settled down on the love seat with the kids, pulling Nicky into my lap. "She didn't say, but by the looks of it, I'd say it was him."

Steph fitted herself next to me, making me smiling at our own reenactment of Sam and her friends on the couch. "Maybe you should call him and tell him he's a jerk."

"I would, but I don't want to encourage him to come back." I took Steph's hand in mine and smiled at her. I was so glad I didn't have that sort of thing to worry about anymore.

"Why not?" She leaned forward to give me a quick kiss. "He should have been here, to pay his respects and to support Sam. If they were going to get married, he shouldn't be able to completely sever himself so quickly."

I grinned at her, thinking of the way Jack had sized me up. "I'm not sure he'd survive if he ever showed up."

"If Sam's this upset, she'd be glad to have him back."

"I'm not talking about Sam."

Steph shrugged. "She and Daniel did look kind of cozy, but they really just seem like friends, Mark."

"I'm talking about Jack."

Steph started to laugh. "He's her boss. And he so much older than her. No way. You're lucky you found me, honey, cause you sure don't know how to read people."

I smiled, letting my wife mock me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was definitely going on. "I'm sure you're right."


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Ok, it's short, but fun enough (for me at least) that I think you'll forgive me. Sorry for the lateness of the post, but I came home and passed out with a migraine and can only barely stand to open my eyes now... Enjoy! And let me know if you do!_

Chapter Five

"There you guys are! We thought you'd snuck out the back or something." Daniel was leaning in the doorway, a smile on his face. I realized I must have fallen asleep at some point because he was completely sober.

I stood up, carefully moving out from under my dozing wife. "How's Sam?"

He looked confused. "Oh, she's fine. She gets moody when she's drunk. But I'm sure you know that." He paused with a crease in his forehead. "Or maybe you don't. If I had a sister I'm not sure I'd want to know what she was like when she was drunk."

I smiled at the man's chatter. "I didn't know that, but she's a grown woman and I've seen far more inappropriate drunken behavior." I followed him out to the living room.

Sam had changed into jeans and a sweater and was curled up on the couch with an afghan over her legs and a magazine in her lap. On the floor beside her sat a bottle of water and a plate with an untouched sandwich. Teal'c sat in the armchair across from her, his eyes closed, his hands on his knees. He appeared to be meditating. I could see Jack through the window. He was on the back porch, using the phone, gesticulating angrily. I watched him pause as he looked back inside. His eyes were on Sam and I saw guilt flash across his face. A moment later, he'd put away his phone and was letting himself back in the house.

He crossed the room to speak to Daniel, paying little attention to me. "Keep an eye on her, Danny. Call me if she needs anything."

"You're leaving?" He sounded incredulous. "Are you coming back tonight?" I could hear something in his voice, a hint of worry, and I was immediately reminded that their shared job was classified.

"I should probably take the kids back to the hotel." I actually had no idea of the proper protocol, but I figured it would give them a chance to get rid of me if whatever was going was that important.

Jack shook his head at me. "No, Carter's glad you're here." He smiled at Daniel. "If I don't sign some requisitions for the mess, no one's going to eat for a year or something. It's not a big deal. I'll be back in an hour."

Daniel walked to the dining room, returning to the book he'd left there. I didn't know what to do, since obviously I was expected to stay.

Jack poked Teal'c in the shoulder, waking him from his meditation. "Make sure they save some beer for me, ok?" Teal'c nodded solemnly and I started to wonder if the man ever cracked a smile.

Jack went over to Sam, squatting down on the floor next to her. "I'm going to have to go into work for a little while."

She looked up, allowing dismay to flash across her face before she nodded. "Oh, ok." The giddy alcohol induced humor was gone, leaving her to sound small and scared.

I was aiming to turn away and go back to my own thoughts, but I stopped and stared as his hand covered hers. "I won't be long."

Something occurred to her then and I saw her body tense as she moved to sit up. "What's going-"

Jack put his finger against her lips to silence her. "I'll take care of it."

She sat up anyway, pushing aside the magazine and kicking off the blanket. "Are you sure, sir?" She didn't sound like she would be convinced, regardless of what he said.

"I am in charge of the place, Carter. There are some things that I actually know how to do." I couldn't see his face from where I was standing, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

Sam smiled back. "I know that, sir. I just meant that if it's something important, I can help. I'm not doing anything but sitting here."

"And here you'll stay. None of these guys are going to let you do anything resembling work." He grabbed the magazine she'd dropped and threw it across the room. "And that means no more Scientific American for you. It's Cosmo or nothing."

Sam giggled. "I'm a little old for Cosmo, sir."

"Well, you probably weren't the last time you had a minute to read a damn magazine."

"You're sure you don't need me?"

It was only by the total silence that I even realized there were two ways to interpret her question. And in that silence, I noticed that Teal'c and Daniel both turned to watch the exchange as I was. But by the time Jack answered her, they'd both nonchalantly returned to their own pursuits. I couldn't walk away. I was mesmerized.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?" His voice was so soft and gentle that I couldn't believe it was the same man who had stared me down earlier.

Sam nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Thank you, Jack."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel's head whip around so fast it could have caused serious injury. Teal'c's head was cocked to the side once again and he raised one eyebrow. The guy wasn't big on smiling, but he certainly knew how to emote intrigue.

Jack leaned forward, sitting up on his knees to kiss her forehead. They stayed like that, frozen, with his lips pressed against her skin. We were all frozen actually, because Daniel, Teal'c and I didn't move a muscle either. It was like we were all under the same spell. Then Jack stood up, heading out the door without another word, with Sam staring after him.

I continued to watch the scene in amazement, trying to process just what exactly was going on. I couldn't believe that Sam, my well-behaved, dutiful sister, was having an affair with her CO. I couldn't believe that Jack, even though I knew little about him besides his obvious concern for my sister, would do something so utterly destructive to her career. But I couldn't believe that what I'd just seen was appropriate for simply being coworkers either.

I noticed Daniel. He was staring after Jack with his mouth hanging open. Then he was staring at Sam with his mouth hanging open. Then he looked at Teal'c and gestured at Sam as if to say 'what the fuck.' Teal'c's eyebrow remained raised so high I feared my mom's words about faces freezing in odd ways were true. Somehow, he managed to look utterly confused.

I headed back to the den with a smile on my face. Whatever it was that I had just witnessed was as surprising to the others as it was to me. Whatever I'd thought I'd noticed that day was new. Very, very new.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: I'm making up for last night's really short chapter with tonight's long chapter. Enjoy!_

Chapter Six

After a few minutes, Sam stopped staring after him. She seemed very lonely just then, but I'd been wrong that morning about her not having any friends and so I wasn't sure if my perceptions were spot on or completely inaccurate or a hodge-podge of the two. Sam's gaze slid slowly around the room. Daniel and Teal'c had gone back to feigning disinterest. I watched as Sam pulled the blanket back over her legs. She was still for only a minute before she stretched out on the couch. She went through an elaborate, quite Sam-like production of tucking her feet in just so before she rested her head on the throw pillow. And sure enough, a minute later, she was sitting back up, letting the blanket pool in her lap.

It seemed very much like Sam didn't know what to do with herself. I knew it had to do with the fact that Jack had left, but I wondered how much was because she didn't have to hide it and play the good soldier for the time being and how much was simply because of Jack's absence.

Sam's hands searched the discarded blanket and came up empty. She looked at the bare couch. Then she checked the coffee table and the floor in front of the couch. Before I could offer to help her find whatever she was looking for, her movements stilled. Her eyes had found her magazine, lying across the room where Jack had thrown it. She started to smile. In fact, I realized as she curled her knees up and rested her chin on them with a smile still on her lips that I was looking at a very contented Sam. Maybe she was so used to not being content that she didn't quite know how to behave.

I took the long way around the room, so as not to interrupt her staring and joined Daniel at the dining room table. He looked up and smiled. He seemed welcoming enough; I decided to take a chance. "So, what are you reading?"

He held up his magazine - some sort of scientific journal with archaeology in the title. "They've just found an ancient burial ground in Egypt with artifacts that date back further than they imagined. The carbon dating analysis places them thousands of years before the Egyptian dynasties and none of the researchers know what to make of it. They've decided the tests must have been inaccurate and they're sending them to another lab for analysis. And since the artifacts have hieroglyphics they've never seen before they've decided to pretend they're not there."

I stared blankly at him. He didn't look like a raving lunatic, but he was actually raving. Then I realized it was amusing that he was the exact same as young Sam had been with a different topic of conversation.

"They just can't accept that they're wrong and move on. They can't get past it. You know, I tried to tell them. I did. But no, everyone would rather think Dr. Jackson's crazy and the lab equipment must have been calibrated wrong than just deal with being wrong." He slapped the magazine closed and shook his head. "Whatever. I was right. I know I was right. Who cares, right?"

I wanted to point out that it was quite obvious that he cared, but I held my tongue.

Sam came to my rescue, walking over to the table and patting him on the shoulder. "We know, Danny."

Daniel looked up at Sam and smiled warmly. Then he winced. "I'm sorry, Sam. I was being inconsiderate."

She shook her head. "It's fine. I'm tired of people treating me like I'm going to break."

If there was one thing I knew about my sister, it was that she wasn't fragile. I smiled at her, pride and warmth filling me up. I'd missed her. I'd really, really missed her. "Do you have any pictures of dad?"

Sam nodded, leading me back to the couch. She retrieved a few albums from the shelves and sat down next to me to look over them. I recognized most of the pictures - she'd been the one to wind up with all of the family memorabilia, apparently. Looking through the pictures with her made me feel like we were kids again - Sam would gaze at the pictures of mom and dad's wedding and I would hover over the pictures of dad in uniform. Whatever I thought of him all my life, I knew what he'd done was important. Just like Sam.

Sam stopped on one of the pages - an eight by ten of mom in her wedding dress. "God, she was so beautiful."

Mom had been a young bride - not even twenty yet and Sam was right; she was stunning. But Sam had been young when mom died and most of what Sam remembered were moments out of photographs she'd stared at so long she thought she'd been there. I remembered more, namely the way mom had aged. She'd only been in her mid-thirties, which gave me a shiver when I realized I was older than she'd been when she died, but there'd been a lot of strain on her through the years - her alcoholic cousin who'd died in a car crash, the baby she'd lost a few years after Sam was born that only dad, and myself accidentally, knew about, the infernal bickering between her husband and son, and of course, the constant worry about her perpetually late, workaholic husband. She'd developed lines around her mouth and eyes and a tired, pale appearance in her last few years. I saw the same on Sam - the years of persistent stress that had aged her prematurely. But I also saw the same bright blue eyes that were forever ready to take on the world.

I smiled at Sam. "You look just like her."

Sam shook her head, refuting my compliment. "No, not at all."

I grinned. "Daniel, Teal'c, come here. Tell Sam she looks like mom."

The guys answered my call immediately and I could have sworn they had been waiting for the invitation. Teal'c sat down beside me, studying the photo of my mother closely. "Mark Carter is correct. You strongly resemble this woman."

Score one for the big guy.

Daniel perched himself on the armrest to look. I wondered why he hadn't simply squeezed in like earlier that day, but I assumed it was something between the four of them. He grinned too. "Wow, Sam, you do look like her."

Sam pointed at mom's face, smiling at the photographer like the happiest woman in the world and I wondered if that look, that utter happiness, was what Sam was getting stuck on. "No. You're all nuts. She was absolutely gorgeous."

"Yeah, so?" Daniel laughed, his disbelief that Sam didn't think she was beautiful evident in his voice.

Red faced, Sam turned away from him, only to find that Teal'c was staring past me at her. "What, you too?"

A nod from Teal'c and an almost smile accompanied his words. "Perhaps we should discuss it further when O'Neill returns."

Even redder, Sam turned back to the album and angrily flipped the page. More of their wedding pictures greeted us, including one of mom and dad together. He was standing behind her, his arms securely around her; they were both smiling harder than I'd ever seen.

Sam went to turn the page, but Daniel's hand reached out to stop her. "He was a few years older than her, wasn't he?"

I looked up at him, knowing my still indignant sister wasn't going to answer him. "He was almost ten years older than her."

I saw Daniel's smirk and somehow, I knew to turn to Teal'c, if only to catch the raised eyebrow. Confused for a moment, I watched Daniel elbow Sam in the side. "An older, decorated Air Force officer. I'm sensing a pattern here."

I wanted to laugh at his comment, especially at the way Sam covered her face with her hands, but the levity was mixed with regret. I should have been the one teasing her good-naturedly. I should have known about her crush on her CO. Instead, in my place stood Daniel, teasing her like a brother would. After a moment, Sam reached over and slugged him in the shoulder and I winced in pain, memory dredging up just how hard she could hit when she was embarrassed.

I nudged her, protectiveness rising up and wanting to shield her from being tortured, but then when she looked at me, my big brother instinct to torture her myself rose up and I couldn't resist. "Don't worry, Sam, we won't tell Jack." She just squared her shoulders and started paging through the albums again.

Stephanie joined us a little while later, still yawning from her nap, with the kids in tow. They immediately remembered their game with Teal'c and ran up to him, shouting 'Mr. T." Sam and I cracked up, leaving Steph, Daniel and Teal'c staring at us.

Embarrassed by the attention, I looked around. "Didn't anybody watch The A-Team?"

Sam giggled. "I pity the fool who didn't watch The A Team!"

No one seemed to know what we were talking about, but we continued to laugh. I tried to imagine Teal'c weighed down by all those gold chains and it only made me laugh harder. Visualizing the mohawk didn't help.

Teal'c stood up when Nicky politely asked him to play hide and seek with them and Stephanie took his seat, cuddling into my side. "Oh, pictures!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Matt tell Teal'c that he was 'it.' Stephanie and I shared a look when Teal'c announced that he didn't know how to play. Nicky explained the rules, all in all doing a fairly awful job of conveying the idea to the perplexed man before her. Finally Teal'c nodded and covered his eyes while the kids ran off to hide. As Teal'c began counting, Sam pushed the album closer to me so that Steph could see as well.

We'd gotten as far as Sam's high school graduation before we realized that Teal'c was still counting. I looked up at Daniel. "Should we stop him?"

Daniel and Sam glanced at each other and both of them shook their heads. Sam shrugged at Steph. "He didn't really play a lot when he was a kid so he doesn't exactly understand the point of games. It's probably more fun for them if he stays out of it."

"Sam, are you hungry?" Daniel's words came only a moment before his stomach growled loudly.

She shook her head again. "We should probably get something. No one's eaten a decent meal all day."

I chuckled at the idea that all those cakes and pies and cookies hadn't quite been enough. "We should get something for the kids, at least."

Just as I spoke, the front door opened, revealing Jack who'd changed into street clothes. In his arms were ten pizza boxes. "Can I get some help here?"

Sam and Daniel jumped up at his words, but Teal'c remained where he was, counting with his eyes closed. They dropped the pizzas on the coffee table. I sighed, knowing Stephanie was going to object to feeding the kids pizza. Before either of us could mention it, Jack dropped two kid's meal boxes on top of the pile.

"Chicken, applesauce, and whole milk." He smiled, as though he were quite proud of himself. And then I remembered his icing on his pie and decided he had every right to be proud. I watched as he looked around, his eyes falling and Sam, Daniel, and finally Teal'c, as though taking an inventory to assure himself that everyone was unharmed. His moment of peace in finding them all perfectly fine was fleeting. He sat down on the floor, alarmingly, for my tastes anyway, close to Sam's legs. He looked up at Sam, who had a tiny smile playing on her lips. "Carter?"

Her smile widened the slightest bit. "Yes, sir?"

I bit back a comment about the switch back to formality, but I didn't even pretend that I wasn't watching them.

"What's Teal'c doing?"

Sam looked over at him, her thoughtful expression making it look as though she had no idea. "He's counting, sir."

"Ah, is that what that is? I was never very good at math."

Sam giggled, reminding me of too many times she'd giggled at boys like that and my father's inevitable lectures that boys would only distract her from more important pursuits. I thought about lecturing her, as I'd always taken my dad's place when he wasn't available, but I liked seeing her, if not happy, at least genuinely amused.

Daniel sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, the only one bothering with a plate when he took a piece of pizza. "Don't encourage him, Sam."

I expected a giggle, or a denial. Instead, I saw her eyes dart toward Jack and I could have sworn he cracked a smile for a second. I shook my head and decided I had imagined it, since Steph and the kids were gathered around the room as well and Teal'c was still sitting with his eyes closed, rattling off numbers as we began to eat.

"One thousand seven hundred and ninety two. One thousand seven hundred and ninety three…"

"Teal'c, you can stop now and open your eyes." Sam's gentle assurance was answered with Teal'c's immediate stare. She grinned. "Do you see the kids?"

He turned his face down, locating the children who were sitting between himself and Stephanie. "I do, Colonel Carter."

"There you go, Teal'c." Sam stuffed the pizza in her mouth, offering no further explanation.

Jack was still waiting, not eating his pizza until he knew what was going on. "Why were you counting, T?"

"I was playing a game called Hide and Seek with the offspring of Mark Carter." He glanced at the kids who gave no indication that they knew what he was talking about as they ate their dinners. "Colonel Carter, how is this game resolved?"

She smiled at him. "You found them. Or maybe they conceded. Whatever. You won."

Teal'c beamed with pride, as no man should for beating children at a game he hadn't played. He turned back to Jack. "I am it."

Jack grinned. "That you are, Teal'c. That you are." Then he took a bite of his pizza and shifted slightly, until his side came in contact with Sam's legs.

Sam's pizza paused for a moment on its way to her mouth, but only for a second before she smiled and resumed like nothing had changed.

Jack polished off his slice in what had to be record time. He glanced at me as he reached for his second piece, opting to pull an entire box onto his lap. "So, Mark, what was Sam like when she was a kid?"

And once again, Teal'c and Daniel's heads turned suddenly toward Jack. It was only when I saw it that I realized he'd called her Sam. And I just knew that was something he never, ever did.


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Keep the reviews coming! You have no idea how much they floor me!_

Chapter Seven

I think you could have heard a pin drop in the momentary silence that followed. The funny thing about it was that Jack and Sam didn't seem to know why. They looked at each other for a moment and then looked around. I looked down, trying to force the corners of my mouth back down so that I wouldn't blind them with the brilliant smile on my face.

When I felt that I could make my smile seem relatively friendly and not maniacal, I looked up. "Sam was pretty much exactly like she is now. Perky. Inquisitive. Liked to talk to everyone about things that were far beyond their grasp."

Jack allowed himself a tiny smile before he forced his face back neutral. "I could see that."

I could have sworn there was a hint of disappointment in his voice, as though he'd really wanted to hear stories about her being a hellion. There were some, but I figured I needed to keep something for later. In case I ever met this group again, and I had a feeling I would, and needed to get them to warm up to me. I suspected that their bubble would close right back up the moment Stephanie and I took the kids home. I shrugged half-heartedly at Jack, trying to appear nonchalant. "Well, what else would you expect from a cheerleader?"

Again, there was silence. I didn't have to look to know Sam was cringing. Jack looked up at her with an obviously irrepressible smile slowly spreading from ear to ear. "A cheerleader, huh?" He looked away, studying his pizza box with renewed interest, but we could all hear his mutter. "Would've liked to see that."

"O'Neill, there are photographs of Colonel Carter in the album." Ever helpful, I was sure Teal'c was unsure of how to proceed when Sam and Jack turned on him. I didn't imagine it was a fun place to be, deciding whose loyalty was more precious.

Jack's eyes were wide when he turned to Teal'c. "Pictures?" Teal'c nodded once. "Of Carter?" I breathed a sigh of relief that he was calling her that again because it was somehow more appropriate. "In her cheerleading uniform?" His voice turned into a squeak on that one. I winced and scratched the very notion of appropriate from the record.

Teal'c, who was as unskilled at reading people as Stephanie, nodded. Then he stood up, pulling the album from under one of the pizzas and offered it to Jack. "Indeed, O'Neill, the number of photographs of young Colonel Carter would indicate that she was a favorite subject of the photographer."

"This, I gotta see." Jack shoved the pizza off his lap and wiped his hands on his jeans before reaching for the album eagerly. He stopped for a moment, his hand on the underside of the cover, pausing before he opened it. "You don't mind, do you?"

Personally, I thought it was extremely considerate of him, but apparently Sam thought otherwise. She sighed and shook her head. "If I said I did, would it stop you?"

Jack grinned at her. "Only until you fall asleep."

I found myself surprised that Jack expected to be in the house when Sam went to bed, but I hoped maybe Sam still had her child-like habit of curling up and napping at random times. She certainly still had the habit of rolling her eyes. "Go ahead."

Jack flipped open the cover, but he didn't look at the page. He glanced back up at Sam. "You really don't mind?"

Apparently that time he really was being considerate, because Sam scooted forward off the couch, sat down next to him, and started to narrate the album in a way she hadn't bothered for Daniel and Teal'c. I turned back to my dinner, pretending that I wasn't watching Sam and Jack. I tried not to notice the way he stared at her while she spoke. I tried not to notice the way she managed to almost imperceptibly shift closer to Jack until there was no space between them. The album rested partly on each of them and I seriously wondered if that was to hide the fact that they were sitting so close their legs were touching. At some point while the rest of us were still eating, I noticed that their conversation had grown very quiet. So quiet that I thought they had stopped talking altogether.

I grinned as I nudged Steph with my elbow, inclining my head to the side as unobtrusively as possible. Not unobtrusively enough, apparently, because Teal'c, who had been quietly eating the two pineapple and pepperoni pizzas himself, stopped and looked. He looked at me and then looked at Sam and Jack. I wanted to run and hide, for fear that my behavior would result in someone getting angry, quite legitimately, for drawing attention to a relationship that was new, secret, and not exactly within Air Force regulations as I recalled them.

As he had a hundred times that day, Teal'c surprised me. He quietly observed the pair on the floor and then spoke only two words. "Daniel Jackson."

It was like watching a movie. I was helpless to not turn, watching almost gleefully as Daniel turned to Teal'c. Teal'c inclined his head much the way I had and then Daniel was staring as well. For all the staring that I suspected would have normally not gone unnoticed by my usually hyper-alert sister and her boss, who to survive in the military must have been equally hyper-aware, neither of the pair looked up. They continued to peruse the album, one or both of them pointing at pictures now and again. Their bodies were intimately close; their voices intimately soft.

Stephanie's finger poked into my side and I almost snapped at her for drawing my attention away. But I saw that she was nodding at Teal'c. He was smiling, actually smiling, at Daniel. And Daniel, well, he was grinning like that cat that ate the canary.

Somehow, we managed to pull ourselves away from the floor show before Sam and Jack looked up. When they ran out of pictures, Sam excused herself and Jack moved to sit on the couch like a normal person. Sam was in the kitchen, but she'd barely turned the water on to wash the dishes before Jack spoke up.

"T, will you go take care of the dishes for her, please?"

At Jack's request, Sam returned to the living room, peering nervously over her shoulder at the kitchen. "Sir? Does he know how to wash dishes?"

It didn't seem like a task beyond the grasp of anyone who'd evolved past Neanderthal, but Jack didn't laugh and dismiss her question like I would have. He glanced in the direction of the kitchen and shrugged. "He's a smart guy. He'll figure it out."

Sam had only just sat down in the chair Teal'c had vacated when the sound of shattering glass caused us all to jump. Jack called out, asking the question that was on all of our minds. "Is everything ok out there, Teal'c?"

"All is well, O'Neill." Another crash of glass breaking. "The dishes will be finished shortly." Another dish broke and I jumped yet again. Somehow I doubted I would ever actually get used the sound.

"No, Teal'c, stop!" Daniel's near frantic voice sounded from the kitchen. It was immediately replaced with the more patient one I'd grown used to. "This is how you wash dishes. See, you run the water till it's hot, then you put soap in."

Jack smirked at Sam. "It would be much easier if you bought a dishwasher."

She smirked back. "Considering that I use about three dishes a week, I don't see how, sir."

The water turned off. Silence reigned for a second before another dish broke.

"Teal'c, you can't do that!" Daniel sounded exasperated.

"Your method is time consuming. My method is much more efficient."

"It's much more expensive too. Please, Teal'c, just try it this way."

I grinned at the pathetic way he was pleading with Teal'c. But then I saw the horrified expression on Sam's face. Jack, Stephanie, and I all turned around to see Teal'c holding a stack of several dinner plates over his head.

Teal'c appeared angry, especially when four people surrounded him to stop him from annihilating anymore dishware. He stared at Jack. "I was instructed to take care of the dishes. I was not given any specific criteria for doing so."

Jack shook his head and Sam glared at him as if to say 'I told you so.' He stepped forward, holding up his hands for the plates. "Teal'c, I meant for you to wash them."

Teal'c seemed to consider Jack's words as he handed over the stack. "I do not believe I would have agreed to that task, O'Neill. The soap would cause my skin to become dry and itchy."

Stephanie and I doubled over laughing. But in the incredulous silence that came from everyone else, I could just tell they were all staring at us. I stood up, patting Steph on the back. "We'll handle the dishes, if that's ok with everyone."

Teal'c bowed respectfully before leaving the room; Daniel disappeared a moment later. The kids had never responded as they were too busy playing with the race cars that came with their dinners. Which left me and Steph and Sam and Jack. I had no problem with doing the dishes, but I wasn't about to interrupt the staring contest in front of me.

There was a large pile of broken glass in front of the sink. Sam had her arms folded over her chest and her eyes narrowed. CO or not, there was no way she was going to let it go. It had been Jack's idea, after all.

A tense moment later, Jack conceded. "I'll replace them."

Sam smiled. "Thank you, sir. That's very kind of you." They walked back to the living room together, where I heard Jack riling up the kids for yet another round of 'King of the Teal'c.'

I swept up the mess while Stephanie started on the remaining dishes. We fell into the pattern we'd had years earlier, before we'd been able to afford a dishwasher. She washed; I dried.

And as she handed me the last plate, she leaned over to me and grinned. "You were right. She's got him wrapped around her little finger."

I smiled. I'd waited eleven years to hear my wife say that.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Thanks for the reviews! They really do make my night!_

Chapter Eight

I stopped dead in my tracks when I returned to the living room. Stephanie hadn't been expecting it and walked straight into me. Before my disbelieving eyes sat Teal'c. With Matt and Nicky curled up, sound asleep on his lap. His huge arms cradled them protectively, keeping them from falling.

"It would appear that your children require rest, Mark Carter."

I glanced at Stephanie, disappointed at the idea of leaving. Weird as they were, I'd quickly grown fond of Sam's little group. My newly gained confidence in reading people told me that Stephanie felt the same. I couldn't say that I'd really enjoyed the day - considering the circumstances - but Sam and her friends had made me feel welcome, which I never would have imagined possible around Air Force officers or even civilians who chose to work with Air Force officers.

I turned to Sam, who was by herself, sleeping on the couch. I was sorry to bother her. I sat on the edge of the sofa and shook her lightly. She awoke instantly, her eyes searching for a problem before settling back on me. "Sam, we should probably get going."

Sam looked for more upset than she should have. "No, Mark, stay. I've got plenty of room."

"We don't want to put you out. You've had all these people here all day. You probably want some time to yourself." Stephanie's words sounded almost sincere, but I thought she was really offering to leave so Jack could stay. I winced out of fear that it was too obvious for Sam not to be humiliated and frankly because she was talking to my baby sister and I was damn near humiliated myself.

"The guys are going to leave." To her credit, Sam had learned over the years how to sound like she was simply stating a fact and making a rational argument, but I knew her better than that. As an older brother, I knew a cleverly disguised whine when I heard one. She didn't want to be alone. And it seemed that Jack really wasn't staying.

I couldn't leave her. I smiled and nodded. "Ok, where should we put the kids?"

Sam didn't think about it for a second. "They can have my bed and that way you and Stephanie can take the guest room."

I shook my head. "No, they're not putting you out of your bed. They can sleep on the couch in the den."

"I'm not going to sleep anyway, Mark. This way I'll be able to do some work while I'm up without disturbing anyone. And if I do want to sleep, the couch in the den pulls out. Please?"

My argument was rendered powerless in the wake of her plea. I sighed in resignation as I stood up. "Fine, but Jack had better not kick my ass for this." I heard Daniel's snicker, but I'd expected a complaint from Jack. When I looked around, I realized he wasn't in sight. "Where'd he go anyway?"

Uncharacteristically, Sam looked like she was about to cry. She looked away, frowning.

Teal'c answered me, effortlessly standing up without waking or dropping my kids. "General O'Neill has returned to work for a short while."

Sam made an irritated noise, but she didn't speak. I couldn't honestly tell whether she was angry or hurt. And then I saw the way she narrowed her eyes and glared at the coffee table as though ready to declare war on it. She was definitely frustrated; I'd seen that face before. She actually wanted to go to work.

"Should we leave? Do you guys need to go?" In my day there, I'd come to the conclusion that they were simply too cool and amusing to not have truly important, secret jobs, despite the Deep Space bull. Maybe they were superheroes. A vision of Jack dressed like Superman blindsided me and I started to laugh. He was a little too skinny for the role, really, but Teal'c would play it beautifully.

Daniel moved to sit next to Sam, resting his hand on her back. "Everything's going to be fine, Sam." He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Jack ordered us to stay here."

He didn't have to say anymore; I understood. Not only was Sam worried about whatever was going on, she was undoubtedly irked that Jack wasn't allowing her to address it. Sam had never been the type to sit back and watch the world go by. Not a chance. Sam preferred to be out there, making the world go by.

Sam shrugged off Daniel's attempt to make her feel better, squaring her shoulders and sitting up straight. "I'm fine. I'm just not used to having this much time not working."

Daniel smiled. "Maybe you could build yourself a dishwasher to avoid anymore problems with Teal'c." Sam cracked a smile for his benefit, but it faded quickly the instant he walked away.

I was torn then - Teal'c was in the hallway with the kids, waiting for me and Stephanie to put them to bed. Sam was back to looking sad and forlorn and I wanted to try to reassure her myself, despite Daniel's failure.

Stephanie pushed me gently towards the couch. "I'll put the munchkins to bed."

I sat down beside Sam and tried to catch her eye. I wasn't actually sure of what to say, but it seemed like I should be there, that if she was going to break down, it was my responsibility to help her. She refused to meet my eyes, but she wasn't crying. I figured she was on the verge and was trying to fight them. I spoke softly, knowing Daniel would be decent enough to tune out. "How are you holding up?"

She forced a thin smile. "I'm fine." Although she didn't say it, I could just about here a clipped 'sir' at the end.

"Not Colonel Carter. I mean Sam. How's Sam doing?"

She didn't force a smile; she just looked at me with pain evident in her completely dry eyes and shrugged. "I can't believe he's gone. It just doesn't feel real."

I knew all too well what she was feeling; it had been months after mom died when it finally sunk in that she wasn't ever coming back. I opened my mouth to comfort her, but Colonel Carter reappeared with her paper thin smile.

"But I'm fine. Really. It's all the people and the cake and the sitting around doing nothing. I'll be fine once I get back to work." I don't know if she was trying to convince me or her, but she wasn't succeeding at either. "Are you tired? You can go to bed. I'm always up late. I don't mean to keep you guys up."

Ignoring her attempt to blow me off, I changed the subject. "So how long are you off? Maybe you can come back with us for a few days. Try to relax."

She shook her head. "The general ordered me off the base for a week, but he'll relent."

I smiled. Only she would consider a mandatory vacation to be a punishment. "Why, cause he's not that mean?"

Her eyes twinkled for a moment as she smiled for real. "He'll need me. Someone on the base will need me long before a week is up."

My sister was cute, but smug. "You sure you're that important to them? You really think they can't live without sweet little Sammy for seven whole days?"

She glared at me and I knew she was seriously entertaining the idea of stomping on my foot as she'd always done when I called her that. "Sweet little Sammy is an astrophysicist and, yes, they will need me."

"Is that confidence or arrogance?"

"It's more of a psychic thing." She grinned hard and then tried to look innocent. "I might have booby-trapped a few things in my lab."

We started to laugh and for a few minutes there, it was exactly like it had always been - my sprightly little sister getting into trouble and confiding in me, and me alone, about her exploits.

She sorted through the pile of pizza boxes that still littered the table, unaffected by the fact that with only six people we'd managed to eat all but one slice of the ten pies. My stomach rolled at the thought, but something told me Sam had witnessed gluttony like that many times over. When she finally found what she was looking for, she sat back.

"You didn't get a chance to see these." She offered me a small pile of photos, yet untouched by her slightly compulsive organizational habits as they weren't in a neatly labeled album.

I found myself looking at fairly recent pictures - at least in the last decade or so. They were mostly of dad, random, un-posed shots where the subjects seemed to be unaware of the photographer. There was only one shot that wasn't candid - it was of dad and Sam with their arms around each other, grinning like fools. I knew they had to have been taken at work because everyone, including dad and Jack were in BDUs. It was weird to see awkwardly trimmed, evidently to prevent inadvertent viewing of classified things, pictures of my dad sitting at a conference table with Sam and her friends. They were reading from the folders in front of them or looking at one another with varying degrees of incredulousness on their faces, but it was still serious. They weren't having a get together. It didn't look fun. I'd heard people say that my dad and Sam worked together, I never really thought about them working together. I guess I'd imagined them passing in the halls between their offices, but certainly not in combat camouflage with actual guns in their hands. Sam was in the Air Force, but she was a damn scientist. She wasn't actually supposed to shoot anything. I shivered at the sight of my baby sister, the energetic, talkative science geek, with a helmet on and armed to the teeth. And the look of determination on her face didn't sit well with me either. I flipped past it quickly.

The next one was of Jack and Sam. I don't know who was taking pictures when they were obviously shipping out for somewhere, but as scary as they were - and they were scary - it heartened me to see Jack and Sam shoulder to shoulder as they'd been in the chapel.

The last picture in the stack was dog-eared, but I didn't comment on it. I instinctively knew why it was a favorite, for the same reason as my father was smiling in the background of the image. Jack and Sam were seated at a table of some sort. It looked like the same one from the earlier pictures, but everyone else was gone, except for dad and the photographer whose accidental capture of the door jamb revealed that he was hiding in another room. My father's body was slightly blurry; he looked like he was just walking in the room. His smile was wide and bright though, a smile I hadn't seen in years. Jack had a file folder in his hands. Sam was leaning in, maybe trying to help him with something. But at that moment, they'd stopped whatever they were doing, and were simply staring into one another's eyes. Because of her position looking over his arm, she was far closer to him than I could see her normally being at work. It was like for one moment in time, everything around them - the stress and the guns and the work - had all faded away, leaving just them. And a proud, consenting father looking on.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

I found myself smiling, and possibly starting to consent to something I didn't fully understand. "That's a cute picture of you guys."

Sam was smiling too. "General Hammond seems to have quite the flair for photography. Jack said he liked to sneak pictures of people when he could because he liked to remember the regular days, not just the bad ones."

"Jack, huh?"

Sam's red flush spread across her fast faster than she could have processed my words. "It's not like that. Well, it's, um, complicated." I only raised my eyebrow, doing my best Teal'c impression. "It's - he's leaving. He got orders to Washington."

That wasn't what I'd expected to hear. "Wow." I nodded at Daniel, who hadn't heard a word because Sam's voice had dropped to a whisper. "Do Daniel and Teal'c know?"

She shook her head. "He's going to tell them this weekend. We're all going fishing."

"You? Fishing?"

She grinned. "Lost a bet. Hence the booby-trapped lab. With any luck, the fish will be safe."

"And what bet was that?"

She smiled and opened her mouth to answer, but thought better of what she was going to say. "You might not want to know."

"I'm not sure I do either, but still, I need to know what the hell kind of bet would get you to go fishing." Because really, it was hard to imagine my sister willingly going anywhere remote enough to have fish. She didn't respond well when there was no electricity.

She leaned her head to the side, a fond smile lighting her face. "Jack and Daniel have a history, you see, of betting on what I will and won't do." She shrugged. "I suppose it amuses them." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Or maybe it's my reaction when I find out that amuses them. Anyway, their last bet involved whether or not I would actually marry Pete." She winced, but I had the distinct impression it was more for my benefit than her own. "Daniel was convinced I'd do it and Jack said I wouldn't, so Daniel had to convince me to go with them on a fishing trip."

"I'm not sure they'd want to share you with another half." I knew I should feel bad for my friend, but I had come to realize in that one day that marrying him would have been a terrible mistake for Sam. I grinned, unable to stop the words from leaving my mouth. "Or maybe they already think you have one." Sam blushed and looked away, but she didn't deny it. "Seriously, what's the deal?"

"There's no deal, Mark. He's been my CO for a long time." She looked at her hands, which were betraying her by twisting nervously in her lap. And then she looked at me, the anxiety finally reflecting in her eyes. "I love him, Mark."

All I could think was 'holy crap.' I knew from watching them that there was something there. I knew from the way they looked at each other and touched each other and how considerate he'd been toward her all day and from the way he'd sized me up that afternoon. But what I'd thought was going on wasn't that. I thought they were having an affair or maybe just thinking about having an affair or quite possibly had already had an affair. But love? Wow. Crap.

The way Sam's mouth quirked up the slightest bit revealed that I'd said that last bit aloud. She wasn't waiting for any kind of a response from me, though, because she just kept talking.

"We've waited so long for this and we'd both about given up on it and then the whole thing with Pete - I really, really thought it was over with." She grasped my forearm tightly. "I never meant to hurt Pete, I swear. But I love Jack and I always will."

Because of her words, because of their friends' reactions, I was thoroughly confused. I'd thought it was new; it seemed very new. But the way Sam was talking, it suddenly seemed like it had been going on for years. "How long have you guys been, uh-" I swallowed hard. I remembered calling Sam to tell her I'd asked Stephanie to marry me and once to tell her that Pete was going to be in town and I thought they should meet up, but since high school that was as much into our personal lives as we really discussed. "Together?" I decided that was good enough.

Sam looked at her watch. "Twenty-two hours, give or take a few minutes."

"That's a long time to wait?" Regardless of how confusing she was, I felt better knowing that she hadn't been secretly dating him while she was engaged to my friend. And her words meant that she'd broken it off with Pete before whatever had happened with Jack had happened.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I've been in love with him for years, Mark. And he felt the same way and there wasn't anything we could do about it. That was why I tried to forget about it."

I thought about that week, about a year after I'd met Stephanie, when we'd argued over something stupid and decided to break up. I'd spent the week thinking about her and missing her and realizing that she was the only woman I'd ever love. By the end of the week, I'd practically flung myself at her feet with flowers and a ring and begged for mercy. I wouldn't have survived staying away from her for years. And I wondered how many of those signs of age I'd noticed on Sam's face were caused by denying herself something she wanted so much. "What made you finally give in?"

She smiled and I could see her relief at not having to pretend anymore. "Apparently Jack's girlfriend dumped him because of me." She giggled to herself. "I would have loved to see the look on his face when she told him. And for me-" She glanced at the photos I'd set back on the table. The one with dad looking at the two of them was on top. "It was something dad said to me."

"Should I ask what advice General Carter gave his daughter regarding dating her CO?"

She smiled for a moment before it faded to a frown. "He told me that I could have everything I wanted." She sniffled and I realized the tears were welling in her eyes. "And not to let the rules stand in my way."

"He actually said that?" I was impressed. Dad. General Hospital Corners. General Live Life by the Rules. "He must have really liked Jack."

She shrugged. "Could've been the morphine talking. But it sounded like good advice to me. I was still pretending to be happy. I was getting married. And then I realized that if it was obvious to him how unhappy I really was that I must have really been unhappy, whether I wanted to admit it or not." Then she smiled again. "But he really did like Jack."

"So you marched into Jack's office and jumped him?"

She laughed so loud that Daniel actually looked up. "No, I tried to work, but Jack ordered me to go home. So I came home and talked to Pete and then last night Jack called to tell me about his orders." Sam's grin grew wider. "He said that he realized it would be grossly inappropriate for him to propose to me since, as far as he knew I was still engaged, and that if I broke up with Pete that it would still be far too soon for him to ask without people saying rude things about me behind my back, but he just wanted me to know that he had every intention of marrying me just as soon as I thought was appropriate and that it was very important that he ask before someone realized his transfer orders were a mistake and made him my CO again."

Daniel looked up again when I started to laugh. I couldn't help it. That sounded exactly like someone Sam would fall for - sarcastic, confident, irreverent. "That'll certainly be a lovely, romantic story to tell the kids. So what did you say?"

"I told him I like platinum settings and that my ring finger is a size five."

I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "That sounds like my baby sister, right there. Making sure he doesn't buy something she won't like."

"Well, an ugly ring that doesn't fit would hardly be practical, would it?"

"Congratulations, Sam." I couldn't help but smile at her - she was glowing. Daniel was sneaking occasional glances at us, trying to figure out why we were so happy. I nearly choked when I realized I was the first person she'd told. "I'm guessing I should keep this quiet?"

She nodded. "We're going to tell them this weekend."

"Thank you." It meant a lot to be let into her head. I hoped Jack knew that. "Just for the record, they may already suspect something is up."

"Really? I thought they'd about given up on us too." Sam sounded surprised; she must not have known how obvious they were.

I shrugged. "Even I knew something was going on."

She blushed crimson.

But it was Daniel's voice that I heard. "What was going on?"


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: Looks like only one more chapter after this.Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming!_

Chapter Ten

Sam hesitated long enough for me to answer for her. "Just talking about some friends of mine."

Daniel didn't look convinced, although I was beginning to suspect that he always looked like that. He simply insinuated himself next to Sam and reached out to snag the pictures off the coffee table. He thumbed through them quietly before returning to the top one - the one of Sam and Jack. He spent a long time conspicuously analyzing the dog-eared edges while Sam's face burned red. Finally he looked at her. "These are from a few years ago, aren't they?"

Sam only shrugged in response. I hadn't been quite sure of how recent they were, but I was willing to bet Daniel knew exactly when they were taken.

"This one -" He held it close to her face to point out the obvious. "Is the most recent, and yet, it seems so worn."

Sam snatched them out of his hands. "Leave it, Daniel." Her voice left no room for argument. It was the same voice that had always sent me scampering out of the room for fear of facing Sam's wrath.

But it appeared that Daniel hadn't gotten the memo, or maybe that was just part of his clueless act - since he was obviously smart enough to have a PhD. "Where did you get them?"

I was surprised Sam chose to respond, but she did so with a sigh that indicated she knew Daniel would have eventually won anyway and she was saving her herself trouble in the long run. "The general gave them to me yesterday, if you must know."

"Oh, I must." He was pleased with her answer, smiling to himself as though he'd suspected Jack had been the one to render the photo into its well-loved condition. He grinned at me. "So these friends of yours - are they named Jack and Sam?"

I smiled back, deciding to borrow a page from my dad and sister's play book. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're as bad a liar as Sam is." Daniel looked disappointed that I hadn't revealed all.

"Maybe so, but my loyalty is to Sam. You'd probably have better luck giving her the guilt trip." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Stephanie and Teal'c had returned. Teal'c was watching us curiously, but Steph was leaning against the wall yawning. "With that said, Sam, I'm going to abandon you to Daniel's questions. Steph and I are going to go to bed."

Sam nodded. "He won't get anything out of me. Night, Mark, thanks for staying. Night, Steph."

It was weird to actually have several people saying good night to me - usually Steph and the kids were in bed long before me. The only thing that saw me fall asleep was the TV. It was yet another difference between our lives - I imagined Sam was used to having all sorts of people around her and a flurry of activity going on. My life suddenly seemed painfully slow and tedious, but then, I was glad to sit at home and have a relaxing night with my family while Sam was more apt to having some sort of crisis. I wasn't sure it was something I really envied after all.

As Stephanie and I settled into bed, she spoke. "So you guys had a nice talk?"

"Yeah, we did. It's been a long time, but - I don't know - it's-" I wasn't sure what I was trying to say.

"But she's your sister. I know. I have one of them, remember? I'm glad things are ok."

I rolled over to face her, a smug grin on my face. "So."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What?"

My grin broke into a huge smile that Stephanie unconsciously mirrored. It made me stop for a minute, oddly reminding me of Sam and Jack. "So I've got some news."

Her eyes went wide; Stephanie could live on a diet of gossip alone. "What?"

"You have to keep it quiet. That's what you walked in on - no one but me knows."

"Ooh, that's the good stuff. Spill."

"Jack."

"What about Jack?" She stopped for a second. "Please don't tell me he's gay."

I laughed. I knew I was making her crazy, but I couldn't resist dragging it out. "By the way, you already told me I was right about them, but I just want you to know that I was even more right about them than you think."

"So they are actually a couple?" She let out a breath.

"More than that." I tried to make myself stop smiling like an idiot to give my revelation some sort of dramatic effect. "As of last night, they are a couple. And as of last night, they're also engaged."

Stephanie actually squealed. "Really?"

"Sort of. It's not official yet, but he said he wanted to marry her and she told him what kind of ring she wanted."

Stephanie grinned. "That sounds like your sister."

There was a knock at the door, followed by the door slowly opening and Teal'c's face leaning in. "Is everyone well?"

Stephanie giggled. "Oh, yeah, Teal'c, we're good."

"There was a cry. Are you sure you are uninjured?"

"We're fine." I smiled at him, unable to quit while I was ahead. "I just told Stephanie about Sam's news and Stephanie is very excited for her."

"Has something exciting happened to Colonel Carter?"

I tried to look innocent as I dispatched another of Sam's friends to torment her. "Why don't you go ask her?"

He bowed politely. "I shall."

I turned back to Stephanie as he closed the door. "You know, I didn't realize it this morning, but I think she's really happy."

She nodded and snuggled into my arms. "She has good friends and a great career and the love of her life. I'd say she's a pretty lucky girl."

"Are you talking about Sam or yourself?" But Stephanie didn't reply because she was already asleep.

I dozed off for a few hours. When I awoke, Stephanie was still sleeping. I decided to check on the kids to make sure they were ok in the strange house. Matt was sleeping soundly, snoring happily. Nicky was awake, amusing herself by trying on Sam's meager collection of jewelry. Of course, I was fairly certain that the few pieces she did own had been the expensive ones that once belonged to mom, so I put Nicky back in bed. As I headed back to the guest bedroom, I noticed light coming from the den. Sam had mentioned that she might sleep on the pull-out in there if she got tired and I was willing to bet that Sam was there, sound asleep with her nose in a book or her laptop.

I walked into the den with every intention of taking away the book and turning out the light. Which, in hindsight, I probably could have still done. Except that it wasn't Sam sprawled across the bed with a book and notes and six different dictionaries. It was Daniel. He was sound asleep, lying in such a way that his glasses would probably never sit straight again, but I realized that was probably why they'd been slightly crooked all day.

But really, Daniel wasn't the most alarming thing. It was Teal'c. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor right next to the door. His eyes were closed and I could only assume that he was meditating once again. The light source that I'd originally attributed to the TV was actually a collection of about a million candles. They covered every available surface and several surfaces, like the arm of the couch, that I personally would not have considered an available surface for displaying candles. I wasn't sure that a room full of burning candles was the best place for Daniel's array of paper, but I took a deep breath, reminded myself that it was not my house and that they were not my friends, and closed the door carefully behind me so as to help contain any fire that might start, at least long enough to save my children.

I wasn't snooping. I wasn't. But Sam had asked me to stay on the grounds that her friends were leaving, so I was just going to check on her since their presence was a little unexpected. I told myself that she could have gotten upset after I went to bed and I cursed myself for sending Teal'c out to question her when she'd asked me to keep her secret. Really, I was just being a protective older brother looking to apologize to my sister.

I stepped into the living room. The silent TV proudly displayed The Simpsons, the mute button making most of their antics lose their humor. Sam was sound asleep on the couch, which wasn't surprising as she'd never been a big fan of the television, unless it was to keep her company. The room had been tidied - the pizza boxes were gone, the photo albums put away. It wasn't out of the ordinary that Sam had straightened up. It wasn't strange that she'd fallen asleep, despite her protestations that she wasn't tired, after the sort of day she'd had.

Perhaps the only thing at all surprising about the scene at all was that Sam, sleeping comfortably with a smile on her lips, was wrapped tightly in the arms of Jack, who was also sleeping with a contented smirk on his face.

So I turned around and went back to bed myself, only realizing as I fell asleep that I was smiling too.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Here we are... all done. This was such a blast to write. I'm eager to see how everyone likes it. My computer has to go in for repairs, so I'm not sure when I'll be posting next... hopefully soon! Please review if you like it!_

Chapter Eleven

One of the few things my sister and I ever had in common was what mom had termed our early bird syndrome. No matter how late we went to bed nor how tired we were, both of us were usually up before the sun. In our youth, that often meant plenty of time to play pranks or break things. More than once, Sam had convinced me to help her reset all the clocks in the house to convince our parents that it wasn't too early to be up. But that morning, it just meant that when I wandered through the dark house blindly searching for coffee, I found Sam by herself with a half full mug in front of her and two clean ones sitting by the almost full coffee pot.

I grinned as I poured myself a cup, hoping that one of the cups was for me. I didn't mention the snoring I'd heard from the den where, evidently, the candles had burned themselves out safely, nor did I mention the dozing man on the couch. "Who's the other cup for?"

Sam smiled. "Daniel. He doesn't wake up till he's had at least three cups."

I sat down next to her, keeping my voice soft to allow the others to sleep. "Our flight's at ten, so we'll probably be leaving pretty early."

Sam nodded, her attention locked on the contents of her mug. "I'm glad you were here."

I snickered; a funeral wasn't the sort of thing a person could get out of. "Did you think I wouldn't come?"

She shrugged, her eyes darting up to meet mine. "There was a time when you wouldn't have."

"There are so many nights that I don't get home until the kids are already in bed, Sam. I feel like I'm missing half their lives." I shook my head, realizing at that moment how completely I'd grown to understand my father. "But I want them to go to good schools and I want them to have a nice house and plenty of toys to play with. I know why he did it."

"It wasn't just that, Mark. What he did, whatever it was, it was important. You have to know that." She took a deep breath. "Just because you don't know what it is doesn't mean it's wrong."

I knew she was talking about herself too. I kicked her under the table. "Oh, I'm sure Deep Space Radar Telemetry is keeping people up at night."

Sam giggled. "You have no idea."

We were silent for a moment as I watched Sam play with the toast she'd made. I knew she had no intention of eating it; she'd just been looking for something to do. Therefore, I felt no guilt reaching out and snagging a piece of it. "I noticed the boys didn't leave."

She didn't try to hide her smile. "It was so late and Jack made them promise to stay until he got back, so I told them to go to bed."

"Where on earth does one find all those candles?"

"I have this friend who sells them and I always have to buy them out of guilt and I never use them. I don't even really like them, so they kind of piled up."

I was familiar with the candle-sellers. Stephanie had donated more than enough money to the cause of friends who were trying to push their products on her. "The good news is I think they're all gone now. The bad news is you might wind up buying more."

Sam rolled her eyes and got up to pour herself some more coffee while I chomped on her breakfast.

I figured I'd done a good job of getting her to let her guard down, so I pounced. "If the boys are tying up the den and the kids are in your room and we were in the guest room, where did you sleep? I'd hate to think you sat up all night." I tried to keep my face neutral, but I knew I wasn't doing a good job.

Sam retook her seat and pushed her other slice of toast towards me. "Now, if I mention that years of field experience have made Jack and I very light sleepers, would you want to change your tactic or stick with the stupid act?" She narrowed her eyes at me and I decided I very much pitied anyone who would ever be her enemy.

"So things are good, then?"

Sam's smile lit up the room and I could have sworn she was purring. "Yeah." Then she gracefully held out her hand, which, I hadn't noticed until then, was weighted down by a huge, sparkling diamond, set conveniently in platinum.

To be completely honest, my first thought was something along the lines of 'wow, that guy is loaded.' But I couldn't help the smile anymore than Sam could. "Guess he wasn't really at work then."

Sam's eyes narrowed for a minute as she looked at her ring. "Actually, he was." She looked thoroughly confused. "I answered the phone - it was definitely the base. And it was after ten when he left the second time."

"Not a lot of jewelry stores are open at that hour." I wanted to laugh at the befuddled expression on Sam's face. She really couldn't wrap her brain around something that seemed so simple to me. I lifted her hand close to my face to inspect the ring, noticing that not only was the setting right, but the fit perfect. "It's exactly like you wanted, isn't it?"

She smiled harder; so much so that I thought it was painful, as she nodded.

"Funny, isn't it? Since he obviously bought it before you told him what to get."

Her mouth dropped open when her eyes met mine. "No, how- he- when-" Her words trailed off as she stared back at the ring. To my horror, her eyes filled with tears.

I scooted closer to her to put my arm around her shoulders. "What is it? What's wrong?"

She was fighting a losing battle with the tears when she whispered her answer. "He never would have bought this after I was engaged to Pete."

"Didn't he bet Daniel that you wouldn't marry Pete?" I nodded at the ring. "That right there might have been his ace in the hole."

She shook her head, anger flashing in her eyes for a moment. "No. He's not like that. He thought I was in love with Pete." Her eyes pleaded with me to understand and, somehow, I did. "He never would have put me in that position."

"Wow. Crap." That was twice in as many days as my sister's love life had evoked that same thought. Far too much for my taste. "So when did he get it?"

She looked at it again, her face filled with guilt and anguish and remorse. But when she looked back at me, I could only see love. "He must have had it for years, Mark."

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I never thought I'd ever say this about any of your boyfriends, least of all about any sort of officer, coworker, or boss, but, Sam, even I have to admit he's good for you."

She smiled through her tears. "Thank you." She reached out to hug me and damn near pulled me off my chair. My sister was stronger than she looked.

When she let go, I looked up to find Jack standing in the doorway with a smug grin on his face. Then he stepped forward, kissed Sam on the top of her head and started pawing through her cabinets until he found the Fruit Loops again. "For a minute there, Carter, I thought he was Daniel and I was contemplating kicking his ass." Sam just giggled as Jack shoved a handful of dry cereal in his mouth and started pulling more things out of the cabinets. Not being much of a cook, I checked with Sam. She was never one to cook either, so she shrugged and we both turned to watch.

Ten minutes later, Daniel shuffled into the kitchen yawning and bumping into things until Sam handed him his coffee. Shortly after that, Teal'c entered the small room with Nicky riding piggyback and Matt clinging to one of his legs. Stephanie was only a few seconds behind them, warnings to not wake everyone up dying on her lips when she realized she was the last one up. Jack, it turned out, was making pancakes and was actually quite a good cook, once Sam, Daniel, and Stephanie convinced him that beer did not belong in pancakes that children would be eating.

In the midst of the chaos of six adults and two children eating in the tiny kitchen, I noticed Sam slip the ring off her finger and into her pocket. I smiled, knowing that she wasn't meaning to keep it a secret, so much as she was trying to protect her friends from the news that her engagement would reveal - that Jack was leaving.

I stayed back from the fray, taking in the sight of the four of them. Losing Jack would change things, even if Sam and Jack were together. There was a dynamic among them, a harmony that was going to change irrevocably, and Sam was trying to savor the last few days they'd have together as they'd obviously been for a very long time. It was sad, but at the same time, I knew they'd survive the change. Their bond was too strong for that.

As Stephanie and I headed out with the kids a little while later, I smiled at the group sprawled comfortably around the living room. Sam was sorry that we were leaving, but not as upset as she would have been if the other three were the ones leaving. As I looked around, I thought of the hours we'd spent together. I thought of my preposterous assumption that she was lonely or somehow lacking friends. I thought of my ignorance in believing it sad that only her coworkers were there for her at the memorial service or that she should have to spend that time at her boss's side rather than mine. The images flashed through my head - the four of them crammed together on the sofa meant for three, Jack sizing me up in the living room, Sam telling him to be nice to me, seeing that spark between Jack and Sam, regretting the brotherly way Daniel teased Sam, the way Daniel and Teal'c had caught Jack's slip of using Sam's name before I had, seeing the smile Daniel and Teal'c shared when Sam and Jack sat so close, the mug Sam had lined up for Daniel because she'd known he'd need coffee, the way they'd passed the syrup and butter around the room knowing exactly who would and wouldn't want each.

They knew each other so well - their habits and quirks and temperaments. They were able to tease and joke and tolerate each other. My eyes fell on the pictures on the table by the door. I hadn't noticed them the day before, but if I had, I might have known what to expect. They were all pictures of the four of them - sometimes two at a time, sometimes three, or all of them. But there were a lot. I saw the newest picture which had been framed and added during the night - the picture of Sam and Jack, dog-eared edges showing through the glass. I knew that was part of the charm, part of the reason why she loved that picture so much.

They were a family; the four of them, a very close knit, loving, supportive family. I took Stephanie's hand as we walked to the car. My wife and my children and I formed our own circle, our own family. We were welcomed in my sister's house, but we didn't quite belong.

We were the in-laws.


End file.
